Now let me pour myself a drink, gather a bowl of my latest lot of macadamias, pick up my Guardian, sit in my favourite chair and see if I can come up with an answer for this query ...John Benseman, Auckland, New Zealand

• A friend visiting a West Indian nightclub in North Kensington in the 1970s noticed a sign behind the bar reading: "No fussing. No relaxing." On inquiry he learned that "fussing" meant fighting and "relaxing" meant smoking dope.Nelson Mews, Lower Chittering, Western Australia

• Whatever really helps to remove stress. Some people might choose a massage, a good book or an ocean cruise.

For me relaxation means feet up in a recliner armchair, a glass of good red and the profound calm of stroking the silken fur of my beautiful Burmese cat as she commandeers my lap.Ursula Nixon, Bodalla, NSW, Australia

• For me relaxing means letting go of all my cares and allowing a healing wave of gentle benevolence to flow over me. (Preferably after lunch with a cup of coffee and two squares of chocolate.)Bernard Burgess, Tenterden, UK

• People relax by lying down and loosening up.David Tucker, Halle, Germany

• I suspect it is best described as the attainment of a state of vacuity of mind and purpose.Terence Rowell, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada

• Death.Peter Vaughan, St Senoch, France

It's just a matter of trust

When one side in an argument claims "they say", who are "they" and are "they" to be trusted?

Often they're anonymous and you can't know whether they're trustworthy, or not. If you're told who they are, you can judge for yourself.Lawrie Bradly, Surrey Hills, Victoria, Australia

• Who, indeed? Should you identify them by any chance, they might be trusted perhaps as far as you can throw them.Philip Stigger, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

• They are the people who are usually strong on opinion and weak on evidence and therefore not to be trusted despite (or because of) their confident views.Margaret Wilkes, Perth, Western Australia

• I don't know who "they" are, but if they are supporting the other side of the argument, they are definitely not to be trusted.Avril Taylor, Dundas, Ontario, Canada

• It's not me, and I can be trusted. So it must be the others.E Slack, L'Isle Jourdain, France

I am not hard of earring

What are earlobes for?

They are convenient attachment points for the gravitationally challenged.André Carrel, Terrace, British Columbia, Canada

• Earring.Sally Foster, Edinburgh, UK

Uninhibited countryside

In England there are permissive footpaths. What is going on there?

Those permissive footpaths lead away from the beaten track into parts of the English countryside that are largely uninhibited.Fran Weaver, Espoo, Finland

Any answers?

Who or what is what Wall Street calls the smart money?Aaron M Fine, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, US